A shadow is the phenomenon in which a rancorous ghost manifests as a black wraith to haunt a cursed individual. Shadows are featured in the third Ju-on film and more prominently The Grudge film series.
Occurences[]
Ju-on films[]
Rika's first sight of Kayako's ghost was as a dark wraith above a cursed Sachie, which stared at Rika and left her unconscious. Hitomi also saw a shadow pulling a security guard at her work. The dark figure then come towards the security camera, scaring Hitomi away. The same shadow transformed into a black figure of Kayako and stared at Toyama, while he reluctantly investigated that very same surveillance footage.
The Grudge films[]
The shadow of Sam Landers haunted the cursed detective Muldoon in her police office.
In Tokyo, when Yoko came to the Williams home to take care of Emma, she saw a black shadow moving in the hall, which materialized into a black cat. Scared, she entered the closet and climbed to the attic, where she met Kayako's ghost and was taken by the curse. Her substitute Karen's first sight of Kayako's spirit was as a dark wraith haunting the ill-fated Emma. The dark figure turned to Karen and left her paralyzed in fear. Cursed, Karen would be later pursued by a shadow the ghost throughout the hospital. While Susan was haunted in her office building, she saw a moving shadow caught in the security camera and ran off the building scared.
The same video was investigated by Detective Nakagawa, to whom the shadow walked towards the camera, and Kayako's voice was heard, saying "I know something about Peter". Eason took several photographs of the Saeki house and, while in his darkroom, noticed a black shadow standing in front of the house. The shadow started moving in front of Eason and, from the picture, Kayako's ghost came to take him.
Notes[]
- The rancorous black ghost of Fukie's unborn twin resembles a shadow.
- In Ju-on: The Grudge, the shadow seemingly pulls the guard into the bathroom as Hitomi watches, while in The Grudge the guard enters and leaves normally, leaving Susan briefly relieved. This indicates the differentes between the Japanese and Japanese-American mythologies: in the original Ju-On films, the curse is infectious, while the American remakes initially restricted it onto visitors of the Saeki house.
- The trailer for The Grudge has an alternate shot of Kayako's shadow in the house, unused in the actual film. It is shaped after her appearance when haunting Sachie in Ju-On: The Grudge (2002).
- The scene where a ghostly Mar haunts Yoko up to the attic is an alternative sequence unused in the final cut of The Grudge.
- Yoko's scene with Mar is an alternate sequence unused in The Grudge.